NCAA Men’s Basketball Conference Review- January 19th
Heading into the second half of January, NCAA men’s basketball action is at a fever pace with the best teams in the country battling it out in their respective conference to try and put themselves in the best position possible come tournament time later in the year. The following is a brief review of the top few teams in each of the major conferences along with a few teams to watch from the Mid Majors. All rankings quoted are from the latest Coaches Poll.
Click Here for Free Expert NCAA Basketball Picks
ACC
No. 5 Duke fell from the ranks of the unbeaten with a 66-61 loss to unranked Florida State last Wednesday night. The Blue Devils are now 16-1 overall and tied with the Seminoles at 3-1 in the conference. They also remain the only team in the ACC currently ranked in the top 25.
Big East
The Big East continues to be the beast of the Majors with seven teams ranked in the top 25 including four teams in the top 10. Syracuse leads the way at No. 3 but will most likely drop a bit after losing to No. 4 Pittsburgh 74-66 this past Monday. The Orange are now 18-1 overall and 5-1 in the conference, while the Panthers move to 6-0 in the Big East and 18-1 overall. No. 7 Villanova (16-2, 4-1) fall back in the next rankings as well after dropping a 61-59 decision to No. 8 Connecticut (15-2, 4-1) on Monday.
Big Ten
Ohio State assumed the No. 1 spot in the nation after Duke’s loss, but the 18-0 Buckeyes will be tested this week with a trip to No. 22 Illinois (14-5, 4-2) this upcoming Saturday. No. 13 Purdue (15-3, 4-1) is the next highest ranked team in the conference but will take a tumble after Monday’s 68-64 loss to unranked West Virginia. No. 17 Wisconsin, No. 18 Michigan State, and No. 19 Minnesota round out the other three ranked teams in the Big 10.
Big 12
No. 2 Kansas remains the pride of the Big 12 with a perfect 18-0 record. The Jayhawks pounded Baylor 85-65 on Tuesday night to move to 3-0 in the conference. No. 10 Texas A&M is next in line at 16-1 and coming off a huge 91-89 OT win over No. 14 Missouri (16-3, 2-2) last Saturday. The Aggies will try and go to 4-0 in the conference when they take on in-state rival No. 12 Texas (14-3, 2-0) tonight.
PAC 10
The PAC 10 has two lone teams in the rankings and they will face one another this Thursday night. No. 20 Washington, which is coming off a 92-71 win over Cal last Sunday, will host No. 25 Arizona, which is fresh off an 80-69 victory over Arizona State this past Saturday. The Huskies come into this game at 13-4 overall and 5-1 in the PAC 10, while the Wildcats are 15-3 and 4-1 in the conference.
SEC
The SEC, as a whole has struggled so far this season with just one team, No. 12 Kentucky in the top 25. They could be completely shutout next week depended on how far the Wildcats (14-4, 2-2) fall in the polls after losing to Alabama 68-66 on Tuesday night. Georgia (13-4, 2-2) appeared ready to break into the rankings but a Tuesday night 59-57 loss to Tennessee will not help the Bulldogs cause.
Mid-Majors
No. 6 San Diego State, out of the Mountain West is the highest ranked school in the country from a Mid-Major. The Aztecs moved to a perfect 19-0 with an 87-77 victory over New Mexico this past Saturday. No. 9 BYU, also in the Mountain West raised its record to 18-1 with an 83-67 win over TCU on Tuesday night. St. Mary’s out of the West Coast Conference is the only other Mid-Major in the top 25 at No. 21. The Gaels are currently 16-2 overall on the year.
Check out the latest College Basketball Odds here.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.